LOLI-POP! Book 2 Review

It’s time for the second instalment of the LOLI-POP! series as Regina Akora’s manga moves into the next stage of its interesting original story. I’m glad to see this time all the printing issues that came with the first book have been remedied and the artwork is now looking better than ever! In Book 2 we are introduced to a new set of characters that look really amazing, tense fight scenes and epic heart wrenching moments. Sadly, there wasn’t too much of Miki and Tobias present throughout the book this time :c but the limited time we get with them in this book are both intense and passion filled. The tension and the drama get raised up a new level in book 2 and we not only get to see two new mafia members from Miki’s past, but the truth finally comes out for Vincent…

The main duo were the main drivers of the comedy of the last book, and despite them not being around much for the book, the book remained funny. The number-one-fan girl from the first book gets her own chapter in Book 2 and while her backstory is a very much what you’d expect from a fan girl, the passion from which her inner dorkiness comes through is flat out fun to follow. On top of the fantastic comedy that we get out of this book, we also get some intense and dramatic revelations as we catch glimpses of the super sexy while menacing mafia boss herself. This latest instalment of the LOLI-POP! series is a joy to read and I can’t wait for the next volume where we might get some hot cooking action!!!

Further Analysis

Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed this instalment of LOLI-POP and I don’t really have much to nit-pick about like in my last review of this series. Most of the issues I had with the first book have been remedied as the mangaka seems to have found a nice pace that really helps with the rhythm of this book. I have a feeling that as this series builds up its collection of chapters, binge reading the series will feel more like a traditional long running manga or web comic than you’d expect from the opening stages. The manga needs a bit of time to start exploring these characters and after a couple of adventures and experiences this set of characters will really feel at natural and at home. However, there are a few peace of mind additions I’d like to see in the next book. Primarily a summary character page just so that we as readers are given a short reminder of the relevant cast and a few words recapping the events of last volume. This is all so that so that we as readers are ready to jump in again after the year long wait between these books, as coming into Book 2 was more than a bit jarring. For me this came not only from the year of breaktime, but with having been immediately thrust into a confusing first few chapters mixed with struggling to remember characters we’ve only known for a very short time. On this point, it’d be nice to have a better layout for future chapters when we again go jump around the timeline of the story. I was initially confused by the layout of this book as the subtlety of the opening chapters time skips left me tonally conflicted the whole of the first reading. In the future, I’d prefer firmer visual communication before the next time skips if they happen again at the beginning of a book. On a more positive note, the reason behind why I was so heavily thrown off tonally, was due to the drama and tension being so great for the Vincent fight. It was a well timed and paced cliff-hanger that left me yearning for the fight the whole book, and with greater and greater skill in crafting drama I’m getting very excited with what will come next!